Apparatus for producing printing-plate designs.



No. 798,668. PATENTED SEPT. 5, 1905. T. S. FOX.

APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING PRINTING PLATE DESIGNS.

APPLIOATLON FILED AUG. 26, 1902.

2 SEEETSSEBET 1.

Eek

PATENTED SEPT. 55, 1905.

T. S. POX.

APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING PRINTING PLATE DESIGNS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 26, 1902.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

jzmess a I /Zmrnks. 31011 534115 film UNITED s'rarns PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS s. OX, or BROOKLYN, NEW roan.

APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING PRlNTiNG-PLATE DESIGNS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 5,1905.

Application filed August 26, 1902. serial 1T0. 121,063.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS S. Fox, a citizen of the United States, residing. in Brook- 1 in the county of Kings and State of New 5 ork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Producing Printing-Plate Designs, of which the follow-.

ing is a specification, This invention relates to the manufacture of plates or forms for use in the typographic art, and hasforits principal obj ect to provide a simple, efficient, and economical a para-' tus for producing typographic plates w ether the printed design or representation is to be 1 of a simple nature or of a high degree of complexity.

In carrying my improvements into prac-.

tice I ma use of magnetism for giving to the relation existing among the elements of a 2 0 prearranged design a permanence suflicient or the urpose of photographic reproduction.

.Such p oto raph1c image may be employed in 'any'of t e well-known ways to make a printing-surface resenting in detail the various features of t e arranged design.

The present apparatus for making t 0- graphic printing-p ates ossesses great fle ility andscope of ap cation in point especially of the practica y-unlimited number 0 and variety of designs which may be pro-' dued. Not only -is there inherent in the method involved in the use of the present apparatus for making printing-plates this adaptability to the printing of designs and 5 representations. from the simplest to those embodying comparatively great quantity of detail, but one of the most important features relatesflto th com aratively' great facilit with which uch esigns, &c., may be 40 ma e.

There is illustrated in the drawings attached to the present specification a simple species of apparatus designed to carryinto effect in present improvements.

supporting certain designs y way of showing the method of usinglthe apparatus. Fi 2 is a side elevation of t e apparatus, the si e of the inclosi'ng case or box being removed;

Fig. 3 is a section on the plane of the line 3 3 in Fig. 1 Fig. 4 is a pers ective view of a portion of the pole-piece 0 one of the series of magnetically-connected magnets. Fig. 5 is a pnrspective view illustrating the manner m w ch a design arbitrarily chosenv for illusxfor the production of t 'cated, within an inc osin In t e drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of such apparatus, the'displa surface thereof trating is built up, andFig. 6 is a plan view indicating how a non-magnetic design element maybe adapted for cooperation with the present apparatus.

Similar characters of reference designate corresplonding partsin all figures.-

In t

elements in the composition of the design or representation desired and employ magnetism for assisting the convenient production of such composite design or representation and in giving to the relationship thus established among its parts a permanency sufficient t ,o ermitthe design, &c., to be copied or repro uced. Inem lo-yingsuch desi elements so arranged-t at is, the preesta plate photography will or inaril be used for the production of a negative. his negative may be converted into or utilized by anysuitable or well known processes for producinga' printing-surface.

Anapparatus for carrying into practical effeet the present method will embody in its a s practical a plication of the present. improvementsI ma e use of suitable design 'lished design as'the sub'ect ofa printing most convenient form a. displa -surface across-or overwhich a magnetic eld exists or may be caused to ex1St,and,-whi1e such surface maybe substantiall a plane surface, ob-

viously. it may be 0t erwisethan plane;

of which cores are in metallic contact with a base-plate 3 ,of magnetic material, providing thus a 1path'at one end of the magnets for the lines o magnetic force for the purpose of increasing the intensity of the magnets. To

the same purpose I refer to alternate the poles contiguous tow 'ch the aforesaid mag' netic field is disposed. I have in this par-J ticular instance arranged the magnets in a number of lines or series, the poles of all the magnets in each series being connected by a corresponding cross rail orbar 4. This connection is made by meansof rods ,5, one of IIO which passes through an opening in the core of a magnet and is attached at one end to the proper cross-bar, while a head 5 at the opposite end takes under the plate 3. Each series of magnets is wound to produce a polarity opposite to that of the series on each side. The leading-in series are designated'by 6 andv bars and, moreover, overlaps such pieces' Thusa magnetic field is presented in which oppositelydesignated oles' alternate with each other. .Str-ips Z, 0 non-magnetic material, are inserted between adjacent series of pole-pieces. The outer ends of the polepieces are, all disposed in the same plane and make up the display-surface upon which the design, configuration, figure, representation, &c., is arranged or composed. The elements of such composition or the design elements may of course vary-to a great extent and, in

fact, be constituted by any article applicable to the pur ose'. Whatever they are, whether figures, c aracters, scrolls, pictorial represe'ntations, or other articles, they will be capable of being attracted by, and hence attaching themselves to, the display-surface, and hence will necessarily be made of or embody some magnetic material. Thus one obviousexpedient is the attachment of pieces of iron or steel to an article of non-magnetic material, as in Fig. 6, in'which such pieces 1'1 are secured to the back of the element 12.

While a simple consecutive disposition of parts may alone constitute the design, as indicated at M, 111 Fig. 1, combinations of superposed elements may be madein composing the desigI-1.. This is indicated graphically in I Fig. 5, in which the element 12 is superimposed on the element 13. In this imposed relation it is plain that the outer element may be used for holding down the element beneath it. Moreover, the display-surface may be in wholeor in art upon a suitable background, a desired fidrm of which is first placed upon the pole ends of the apparatus, as

.' indicated by.,14.

The magnetic lines of force being assumed to emanatelfrom the poles, the design elements (this term including a background, as aforesaid) 'ma .be readily brought into desired relations ip, in which they are retained by 3 the magnetism. A photograph copy may then be made and the image applied in any of the well-known ways to the production of a printing-plate. Subsequently the design by the shutting off of the current or i by a sweep of the hand may be removed and the surface prepared for the next composi tion. By my invention it is evident, therefore, that a practically endless variety of designs, &c., maybe madewith great facilitydesigns, in fact, of great complexity-and comparable in artistic merit and effect to the pro-J ductions of the engravers art.

The employment of magnetism for holding in place the shiftable parts or elements during' their adjustment and readjustment in making the final and com leted design is especially advantageous in t at the position of any one or all of the parts can be c anged repeatedly with great facility and without the necessity of tacking or pasting the part fast in each such new position. Thus in all the tentative arrangements leading up to the final design no marking of the parts takes place and the mind of the designer is not distracted or withdrawn from the o eration of designing that he hasin hand. T e displaysurface may, moreover, be in any position desired or convenient, from vertical to horizontal, without affecting the firm attachment .of the shifted parts, and hence such surface maybe so relationed as to best facilitate the focusing of the camera and the production of the photographic image.

' Ordinarily the design constituting the subject from which the photographic image is taken will be of dimensions sufficient to permit of considerable reduction in the image in order that defects, imperfections, 620., may be more or less suppressed if not quite eliminated.

Having described my invention, I claim 1. An apparatus for the production of printing-plate designs photographically transferred from the apparatus to the plate, the same comprising adjustable design elements, means for producing a magnetic field, a supporting-surface located in such field'and constituting a display-surface upon which a design is established by a desired arrangement of design elements, and means 006 erative with the attractive force of the field or holding the elements on such surface.

2. An apparatus for the production of printing late designs photographically transferre from the apparatus to the plate, the'same comprising a justable design ele-, ments some at least of which embody magnetic material, means for producing a magnetic field, and a supporting} surface located in such field and constituting a vdisgla -surface upon which a design is establis e by a desired arrangement of design elements.

3. An apparatus for the production of printing late designs photographically transferre from the apparatus to the; plate,

.netic material, and a series of magnetic polepieces whose end faces lie in a common plane and constitute a display-surface u on wlnch a design is established by a desire arrange ment of design elements.

4. An apparatus for the production of printing plate designs photographically transferred from the apparatus tothe plate, the same comprising adjustable design elements some at least of which embody magnetic material, and a plurality of series of electromagnetic pole-pieces whose end faces all he in a common plane and constitute a display-surface upon which a design is established by a desired arran ement of design elements, each series of po e-pieces comprising a plurality of separated ole-pieces which are located opposite the po e-separating spaces of contiguous series.

5. An apparatus for the production of printing 1 late designs photographically transferre from the apparatus to the plate,

the same comprising adjustable design elements some at least of which embody magnetic material, and a plurality of series of electromagneticpole-pieces whose end faces all he in a common plane and constitute a tab ished by a desired arrangement of design elements, each series of poleieces com r1snetic material, and. a plurality of series of electromagnetic pole-pieces whose end faces all lie ina common plane and constitute a dis lay-surface upon which a design is estab lished by-a desired arrangement of design elements, each series of the p0lepieces being of the opposite polarity to the series contiguous thereto and comprising a plurality of separated pole-pieces which are located opposite the pole-separating spaces of contiguous series and extend into such spaces.

7. A display-surface for the temporary fixation of a design built up of suitable design elements, the same comprising a number of rows of eleetrom'agnets.

8. A dilslplay-surface for the fixation of a design bu'f tup of suitable design elements, the same comprising in combination a num ber of parallel rows of electromagnets, crossbars connecting the cores of the electromagdisplay-surface upon which a design is es-- nets of the respective rows, and flattened pole-pieces secured to the cross-bars with their end faces in a common plane.

9. A display-surface for the fixation of a design built up of suitable design elements, the same comprising in combination a number of parallel rows of electromagnets, cross- ,bars connecting the cores of the electromagnets of the respective rows, and separated flattened pole-pieces secured to the crossbars with their end faces in a common plane, the pol epieces extending from one bar being located opposite the spaces between the polepieees extending from contiguous bars.

10. A display-surface for the fixation of a design built up of suitable design elements, the same comprising in combination a number of parallel rows of electromagnets, crossbars connecting the cores of the electromagnets of the respective rows, and separated flattened pole-pieces secured to the crossbars with their end'faces in a common plane, the pole-pieces extending from one bar being located opposite the spaces between the polepieces extending from contiguous bars, and the ole-pieces extending from onebar being of tlie opposite polarity to those extending from contiguous bars.

' 11. A display-surface for the fixation of a design built up of suitable design elements, thesame comprisingin combination a 1111111? ber of parallel rows of electromagnets, crossbars connecting the cores of the electromagnets of the respective rows, and separated flattened pole-pieces secured to the crossbars with the end faces in a common plane, the pole-pieces extending from one bar being located opposite to and projecting into the spaces between the pole-pieces extending from contiguous bars and the pole-pieces extending from one bar being of the opposite polarity to those extending from contiguous are.

12. The combination of a casing, a baseplate, a number of parallel rows of electromagnets whose cores are secured to said baseplate, the coils of said electromagnets being wound to produce opposite polarity tiguous rows of the magnets, crossof con ars connecting the cores of the'electromagnets of the respective rows, and flattened ole-pieces secured to said cross-bars with t eir ends in a common lane, the poleieces extending from one ar being locate opposite to and projecting into the spaces between the polepieccs extending from contiguous bars.

THOMAS S. FOX.

Witnesses RALPn JULIAN SAonnRs, Cnon. E. HARING. 

